A MOTHER and son team has won a place in an international beauty competition after winning a national pageant.

Bentley and Shannon Orritt, of Porthmadog, were recently awarded the titles of Miss and Master Belle 2018 in the regional heats in Wrexham.

As a result of their accolades, the pair will now fly to April early next year to Spain to compete in the Belle international grand finals, where they will fight to retain their sash and crowns.

The duo now intend to host a charity pageant in Porthmadog in the new year.

After winning the pageant - which considers the participants charity work, fitness, appearance and personality - Shannon now hopes to boost her fundraising pot having already raised over £2,000 for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

The pair have hosted car boot sales, local litter picks, a sponsored bike ride/walk and worked with food banks in order to raise money for the valuable cause.

Shannon recalls the day she was crowned.

“Firstly we did the opening routine and introduced ourselves to the audience and judges,” she said.

"We then went on to the fashion round, followed by the evening round.

“We had a nervous hour wait as scores were added up before crowning.

“My category was up for crowning first and I completely wasn’t expecting to win but I did!

“Then Bentley came on stage for his crowning and I was expecting him to at least be in the top two as he had been a real showman and little performer on stage during the pageant.

“So much so he didn’t want to get off the stage and wanted to stay there entertaining everyone.

“He won too.”

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